Well it may seem a bit odd that an apologist writer is writing a review on upgrading Office 2010 to 2013! Well, to write, I needed to upgrade and I figured I would share how to do it with you, and give a bit of review of my challenges. In the end, it will all tie together like a happy meal with a book (as opposed to a toy)!
The rules: You must have purchased a qualifying computer or recent copy of Office 2010.
The requirements: Office 2013 only works on Windows 7 and Windows 8 systems
The task: Visit this link: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/offer/
After you have put in your product key, you will be given a choice (and this is where I made my mistake which cost me 6 hours to fix) either you can choose to install the O2013 on five computers for one year, or install it onto one computer and have the software indefinitely (for the life of the computer).
I unknowingly choose option A - installing it on five cpu's for one year, that's when hell on earth opened up and swallowed me whole spitting me up in different parts of India, and Korea. The people were polite in India but not as knowledgeable as the Koreans. I was transferred to three different places in India. I allowed two of them to have remote access to my computer (which I completely hate!).
They still didn't fix the problem of reversing my upgrade to be installed on one computer instead of many. I called a local store manager of Office Depot and told her the situation. In the plea for help I also disclosed that they wanted me to exchange my Office 2010 product to gain a new product key. She kindly obliged.
Once I returned home I installed Office Professional and I ran into another problem. I called up Microsoft (1-800-936-5700) again and explained the problem. A Philippines answered and with an American dialect simply listened to my problem before giving an answer.
He was patient with me as he assisted me and corrected the issue. We talked about food and he said that Koreans 'eat rice with everything; for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner and even on burgers!' Good times!
Anyway, the end result is that I am now with Office 2013. Despite the trial of upgrading, I dislike the fact that Microsoft tries to force me to connect my documents to the web. They are high on Cloud 9 and want everyone who has their product to join them in this high. I for one don't want anything attached from my desktop to a digital world that I have no control over. Have you heard of the group Anonymous?
Information is becoming the power of companies because it drives profits. I refuse to give in to their sneaky ways!
CNN Money suggest that the new Office is nice, but its not worth it. "It makes sure its applications run smoothly, folds in the latest tech standards, and mostly leaves things alone. None (Office Suits) are in need of any radical reinvention." In my opinion, I don't think that its worth the price ($100 a year subscription) for an upgrade.
Will my ROI be positively stronger because I upgraded? Probably not, but it may make my docs more assessable and pleasant to write.
Tell me what you think about the new Office 2013, post below!
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